Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight staple Neil Magny will not turn down any fight, no matter how risky.
MMA Junkie reported on Thursday that Magny (26-8) had accepted a high-stakes welterweight matchup against Shavkat Rakhmonov (15-0) on June 25. The UFC Fight Night card without a designation at this time is also currently without a location, but it might be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas depending on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. Magny called for this fight nearly two weeks ago at the beginning of April, and he has since posted about this new matchup on his Instagram.
Magny is currently riding a two-fight winning streak, with decision victories over Geoff Neal and Max Griffin to cement his place as a top-15 welterweight. Throughout his last nine appearances since the end of 2017, Magny has pulled off seven wins opposite two defeats, beating the likes of Robbie Lawler, Carlos Condit, the aforementioned Neal and Anthony Rocco Martin. He has also recently gained the nickname of “The Haitian Sensation” later into his career. The Elevation Fight Team fighter has earned his last five triumphs on the scorecards.
Kazakhstan’s Rakhmonov has been a man possessed since making his pro debut in 2014, blowing through his first eight opponents in two rounds or fewer. “Nomad” has never before gone the distance as a pro MMA fighter, and he made his UFC debut in 2020 by wrecking Alex Oliveira in the first round. Subsequent finishes of Michel Prazeres and Carlston Harris — the former as the first man to stop “Trator” and the latter a spinning hook kick — propelled Rakhmonov into this spotlight fight with Magny.
There has yet to be a headliner announced for the UFC Fight Night card on June 25, and the location is still up in the air as well. Other bouts on the lineup include a middleweight clash between Chris Curtis and Rodolfo Vieira, a flyweight encounter when Tim Elliott takes on Amir Albazi and a women’s strawweight collision between Jinh Yu Frey and Vanessa Demopoulos.
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